Now, GHMC amps up effort to swat mosquito-borne diseases

Hyderabad: To prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, the entomology wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation took up a large-scale special drive in various schools on Friday.

For the last couple of days, GHMC commissioner Amrapali Kata held surprise inspections in the city and focused on proper sanitation across the corporation limits. According to the entomology wing, on Thursday, the commissioner instructed officials to ensure that the city streets were swept regularly and kept clean. She advised the entomology teams to visit door-to-door and take special measures for mosquito prevention.

“Following the orders of the commissioner, the special awareness drive was taken up starting from school to combat mosquito borne diseases,” said Chief Entomologist Dr Rambabu.

He said, during the drive, an awareness and health seminar on mosquito prevention was organised among students in various schools across the city on Friday. “Over 30,000 students in 150 schools were made aware by officers on preventing mosquito-borne diseases. Similarly, stalls were set up in schools where they were made aware of how a mosquito turns from egg, larval stage,” said Dr Rambabu.

To create awareness among residents, entomology staff visit door-to-door to identify places where water is stored and remove it. The GHMC is implementing a surveillance system to keep track of mosquito-breeding sites.

The wing initiated door-to-door surveys in over 4,800 colonies, inspecting cellars, construction sites, and low-lying areas. Special attention is being given to areas with high population densities, he said.

The entomology and health departments have jointly launched a series of measures to address the issue. For the awareness and health programmes spread in large numbers, MPs, legislators, the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, corporators, other public representatives, VIPs, GHMC officials, colony welfare association representatives, are being involved.

Meanwhile, to address the issue of garbage removal on streets, the commissioner directed officials to completely remove garbage from garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) from the city. She suggested that plexiglass and banners should be installed in all areas with details and phone numbers of concerned agencies to make citizens aware of lifting C&D waste.

She asked officials to clear garbage. Accordingly, measures had to be taken to remove garbage in a full-fledged manner. There should not be any negligence; there is a need to look after sanitation works at the ground level every day,” Amrapali added